So long, CC

CC Sabathia, the Hefty Lefty, has been traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for outfielder/first baseman Matt LaPorta, right-handed pitcher Rob Bryson, left-handed pitcher Zach Jackson and a player to be named later.

LaPorta is a significant power hitting prospect with a high ceiling and has been mashing at AA Huntsville. Bryson is being used as a relief pitcher, and some have projected him as a potential closer. Johnson is organizational filler. Speculation is that the PTBNL is either third baseman Taylor Green, last year's Brewers Minor Leaguer of the Year, or outfielder Michael Brantley. The Indians have until the end of the year to choose.

The fire sale has begun. Most likely to go before the fire sale ends: Casey Blake, Paul Byrd, and David Dellucci. Players that might go: Ben Francisco, Jhonny Peralta, Rafael Betancourt.

The Wind

"The wind, the wind brings me cards from Argentina
It brings scarves from finer ladies
And the scent of the gardenias
Won't sleep or rest or sit itself beside me
If I run out, there's no one that could hide me
And I know that I'll regret it
But I think I'm gonna let it in"

"The Wind" by Nathan, from Key Principles

The Indians have been looking for something to "take fear from bats", and it seems like they may have found it in Arlington this week. The weather was hot, the wind was blowing out, and the Indians got to feast on weak Rangers' pitching. Alas, the wind was also blowing out for the Rangers as well, as the ulitmate result was a split, with the Tribe scoring 39 runs and the Rangers scoring 39 runs. The highlights:

• Monday: Tribe 13 - Rangers 9: Casey Blake, 2 HR, 7 RBI. Laffey got pummeled. Westbrook put on DL. Nobody ready to start next game, since Sowers started earlier in the week.
• Tuesday: Tribe 7 - Rangers 12: Tribe starts Tom Mastny due to Westbrook's sudden appearance on DL. Mastny gets plowed under like last year's corn stalks. Bullpen really didn't recover for the rest of the series.
• Wednesday: Tribe 15 - Rangers 9: Everybody hits! Ben Francisco gets 5 all by himself! Garko gets 4, with 6 RBI. Cliff Lee leaves after getting hosed by the home plate umpire in the 5th inning and allowing the go ahead runs and then paces the dugout hurling curses towards home plate as the Indians break the game open with 5 in the top of the 6th to give him the victory.
• Thursday: Tribe 4 - Ranger 9: With the chance to capture the series and staked to a 4-0 lead, CC Sabathia falls prey to his "inning of crap" (thanks, Steve Buffum), surrenders the lead and then the Senor Slow implodes, putting the game out of reach. Kevin Millwood, after a bad start, pitches lights out into the 7th to get the win for the Rangers.

Other notes:

• Milton Bradley continues to be a showboating douchebag. At least CC hit him with a pitch on Thursday, though he came around to score in the "inning of crap."
• Jake Westbrook is on the DL with "right elbow soreness." He went to see Dr. Yocum and the results will be released this weekend. Uh-oh. Still think the Indians should trade some of their pitching depth?
• The Westbrook injury forced the Tribe to shuffle their bullpen. Tom Mastny and Jensen Lewis were up. Then they were down and Rick Bauer and Brian Slocum came up. Bauer closed out the 15-9 game, giving up 3 runs in the 9th.
• The draft was this week. The Indians took Lonnie Chisenhall, a middle infield type, allegedly with a plus bat, who fell from grace at U South Carolina after being involved in an incident regarding the theft of some electronic equipment.

Last night, the Indians beat the Tigers 4-2, with Paul Byrd getting his 100th career win. The Tribe is now 6.5 games behind the Whine Sox, who have won their last 4.

Andy Marte played Tuesday. So did Blake. Andy went 1 for 3 with a run scored. He was pinch-hit for late in the game by Dellucci, who flied out weakly to left. This is particularly noteworthy because Wedge got outmanaged. Texas pitcher Jamey Wright was struggling. The bases were loaded and the Rangers needed more time to get a pitcher ready. Instead of sending up Marte against a struggling pitcher, Wedge wastes time getting a pinch-hitter up (lefty Dellucci vs righty Wright) allowing the Rangers time to get lefty Eddie Guardado into the game, who proceeded to drink David Dellucci's milkshake.

When we last left Casey Blake's stats, he had an OPS+ of 52. Now that he's been on the road to feast on weak KC and Texas pitching, he has increased his OPS+ to 94, which now actually approximates the OPS+ of an actual major league player, albeit still a below average one. His batting line is now .236/.315/.407. So, don't expect the Casey Blake Experience to end any time soon.

When Andy Marte plays, the Indians are 11-6, with a two game losing streak. Blake also played in both games. When both Marte and Blake play, the Indians are 6-5.

At Least There Was Probably Some Really Good Barbecue

When we last left our intrepid Tribesmen, they were heading to Kansas City for some baseball and some barbecue.

At least, we can only hope they all got some good barbecue, because the baseball was pretty sad. The quick recap:

• Friday - Andy Marte and Casey Blake both play. Andy Marte extends his hitting streak to 4 games. Cliff Lee gets knocked around a little bit but get saved by 2 homers by Sizemore and 1 by Blake and the Indians win, 5-4.
• Saturday - Andy Marte does not play. Casey Blake does. CC Sabathia has, as Steve Buffum calls it, The Inning of Crap. The Indians fail to get their offense going against Kyle Davies, who has just been called up from AAA. Indians lose 4-2. Kansas City losing streak ends at 12 games,
• Sunday - Age and Treachery starts for the Tribe against Brian Bannister. Youth and Inexperience hit Age and Treachery pretty hard, while Bannister shuts the Tribe down. Final score - 6-1 Kansas City. KC win streak now at 2, and the Indians have lost another series, their 5th in a row. Andy Marte plays, goes hitless ending his hit streak at 4 games. Casey Blake does not play.

More fun facts:

• When Andy Marte plays: Indians are 11-5. When Blake and Marte both play - 6-4.
• Pronk is now on the DL with a shoulder injury which he's apparently been battling since very early in the season. Maybe he'll get sent out on rehab and get to devour some Eastern League pitching for a few days and get back in a groove.
• The Indians' silence about injuries to both Pronk and He Who Shall Not Be Named is extremely troubling - it's as if they are trying to become the New England Patriots or the Denver Broncos of the Major Leagues (that's not a good thing - both of these teams are notorious for being tight-lipped about player injuries). This really makes me wonder what we're not hearing about Victor Martinez - his lack of power continues to be puzzling, and I cannot help but think that there is some physical reason why his power has vanished.
• Welcome back, Shin Soo Choo. When Hafner got shut down, Choo got brought up.

Onwards to Texas, having lost 2 in a row and 12 of our last 15 (to the Reds, Whine Sox, Rangers and Royals). This is not the way a contending team performs. Aaron Laffey tries to right the ship against Vicente Padilla tomorrow night.

Everything Looks Like a Hammer When You Feel Like a Nail

Cleveland 2, Detroit 13

Among the bad things that happened, and there were many, I'm not sure which is the worst:

• CC Sabathia's continuing implosion: 4 innings, 9 runs
• Allowing a 26-year-old journeyman making his second major league start to throw 6.2 innings of 1-hit baseball.

David Dellucci hit his first home run of the season in the first inning, staking the Tribe to a 1-0 lead. That was the highlight. It was all downhill from there.

Remember last week when we were mocking the winless Tigers and their massive payroll and inability to score runs? Those were good times. Good times. They seem so far away. At least Pudge is still awful, going 0 for 6. Good thing for Pudge that the Tigers' best-hitting catcher is needed to play centerfield. Frankly, I'm amazed that Detroit picked up his option.

However, as bad as Pudge's .189 is for the MCK, it is absolutely torrid compared to Jason Michaels (.091), SUMM (.146), Asdrubal Cabrera (.173) and Franklin Gutierrez (.182). Right now, the Indians couldn't hit a beachball thrown to the plate by my 6-year-old niece.

And, as bad as things are, we still have a chance to win today to keep the MCK in the AL Central basement. The bad news is that if we lose, we have to look up at them. Carmona vs. Verlander.

Andy Marte Watch

Marte entered the game in mop up duty and made a nifty play at third and had two pretty good at bats with nothing to show for it, including a scorching line drive caught by the left fielder.

Mojo Watch

David Dellucci:

Everyone else who played last night:

Cliff Lee Saves a Nearly Lost Weekend

After the Tribe's ace and ace-in-waiting both turned in forgettable performances, last year's scapegoat Cliff Lee stopped the bleeding with a shut-down performance in the snow. On to the quick hits:

Game 10: Cleveland 7, Oakland 9

I didn't see the game. I was visiting friends in the Cincinnati area. CC got pummeled, giving up 9 runs on 12 hits in 3.1 innings. The Indians added 6 pretty meaningless runs in the 8th to make it respectable. The good news is that the bullpen shut Oakland down for the last 5.2 innings. Jhonny Peralta homered.

Andy Marte Watch:



Game 11: Cleveland 3, Oakland 7

I didn't see this game, either. My wife and I were at the symphony. At any rate, I'm glad I didn't see it. Fausto Carmona didn't have it. He gave up 3 runs in 3.1 innings, walking 8. The bullpen stopped the bleeding and kept the Tribe in the game until the 7th inning, when Rafael Perez gave up a 3-run shot to Bobby Crosby which broke the game open. The A's ran Lenny DiNardo out to the mound and the Tribe only managed 2 runs in 5 innings. If you can't beat a AAAA pitcher like Lenny DiNardo, you deserve to lose.

Andy Marte Watch:



Game 12: Cleveland 7, Oakland 1

Cliff Lee posted his second solid effort in a row, pitching 8 innings of 2-hit baseball in a game which featured windy, cold conditions, including swirling snow. The Tribe manufactured three runs early in the game, and then broke it open with 4 runs in the 8th.

Andy Marte Watch:

.

Indians manager Eric Wedge seems to be trying his darnedest to screw up Andy Marte. Marte started at third, and came up in the third inning for his first at bat after Jamey Carroll got hit by a pitch. Here's a potential power hitter that you're supposedly trying to get untracked, and hasn't played in a week and in his first at bat, Wedge asks him to bunt. Marte fouled off two bunt attempts, and then swung meekly at a breaking ball, striking out.

In his next at-bat, in the fifth inning, Jamey Carroll led off the inning with a single and then it's deja vu all over again! Eric Wedge asked his young power hitter to bunt. Again. This time, Marte got the a good bunt down and pitcher Chad Gaudin threw the ball wildly down the first-base line, allowing Carroll to advance to third.

Marte came up in the sixth inning with the bases loaded in two outs, and was finally allowed to swing the bat for the first time in the game. He struck out.

The next time Marte came up, in the 8th inning, the bases were loaded with one out in the 8th. Here's a great chance for your young power hitter to swing the bat and gain some confidence. The bases are loaded with a chance to break the game open, it's the 8th inning, and your pitcher is rolling. Nothing to lose, right? Let the kid swing the bat. Instead, Wedge pinch-hit The Beaded One for Marte. The Beaded One struck out. Grady Sizemore and David Dellucci followed Cabrera with back to back doubles to break the game open.

How are we going to know if Marte can hit in the clutch if Wedge pinch hits for him in nearly every clutch situation. How is Marte going to get in any kind of groove or make any kind of adjustments to the major leagues if he plays once a week, and when he plays, he's not really allowed to swing the bat in meaningful situations? Wedge is mishandling Andy Marte. Badly.

Mojo Watch:

CC Sabathia: Right now, CC has no Elvis. If he wants somebody to show him the money, he needs to start being money on the mound.

Fausto Carmona:
The Indians showed Fausto the money, and he rewarded them in his first game as a rich man by spreading the love, giving everybody a free ride on the Walk To First Base Express. He'll come around.

David Dellucci: Dellucci seems to be coming around. His average is up to .273, and he's put up some clutch hits in the last couple days.

Jason Michaels: Still ain't got any Elvis. He has lots of hair, though. Michaels had a hit Saturday to increase his batting average on the year at .111.

Pronk: Pronk went 2 for 5 with 2 RBI.

Ryan Garko: Garko is batting .325 on the year so far, with OBP of .460., including 10 walks. So far, he's been the Tribe's best offensive weapon, slugging .500 with an OPS of .960 with 1 homer and 6 walks. If we could get guys on ahead of him, we might score some runs.

SUMM: Since his Opening Day heroics, Super Utility Mountain Man Casey Blake has let his average drop to .143 and he's already made 3 errors.

The Indians continue their homestand with the only visit of the year from Boston, who comes in for a two-game set. Yes, the Red Sox only play two games here, while we play 4 in Boston in September. This is just one example of how the people who make the schedule for MLB have gone to great lengths to hose the Tribe, loading them up with home games in the coldest months of the year, in addition to giving them fewer home games against a rival with whom they may be competing for a playoff spot.

All told, considering how poorly the Indians have played at times, they are fortunate to be sitting at 5-7, and only 2.5 games out of first place. In the schadenfreude department, Sunday's win puts them three games ahead of the Motor City Kitties, who are now 2-10. It's no more Mr. Nice Guy from Detroit manager Smokey McChimney (aka Jim Leyland), who apparently went nuclear following their latest loss, an 11-0 spanking by the Whine Sox. The Motor City Kitties have scored 33 runs through 12 games and given up 78.

Opening Day, 2008

Instead of posting game summaries (there are a lot of places you can go to get game summaries), this year, Pronk Needs You will be posting quick-hitting impressions, as well as continuing Mojo Watch.

I was at work trying to get a market study out the door, so pretty much all I could do yesterday was listen to the game on Gameday Audio, and since the game went long and we had errands to run, I missed portions of the game call.

My impressions:

• Yes, CC made a few mistakes, but, sheesh, people, don't panic. It's one bad game.
• Nick Massett has clearly been replaced by a Beta Unit.
• To paraphrase Bill Cosby, talking about his friend Harold in one of his classic stand up routines: "Mark Buehrle's gettin' a beatin'? I love to see Mark Buehrle gettin' a beatin!"
• Joe Still Knows Closing
• Victor is day to day, but, to quote Keith Olbermann, "then, again, aren't we all?" Seriously, keep your fingers crossed on the MRI. No word yet on how serious his injury is.
• Casey Blake hit with RISP? Enjoy it, crimestoppers, because if history is any indication, you won't see another one for awhile.
• Frank the Tank! Bringing the lumber!
• Yes, the bullpen was bad. Hope it's not a trend. Senor Slow saves the day again.
• Still think we should have traded Gutierrez to the Royals last year for Dotel? Thought so.
• After all the complaining they did, maybe we need to call them the "Whine Sox" (credit for this belongs to a Let's Go Tribe poster).

Mojo Watch

Franklin Gutierrez -

Casey Blake:

CC Sabathia:

Victor Martinez: Before the injury, it would have been 5 Elvi.

Pronk: 1 for 4, with a double, RBI, and two Ks.

The weather:

Off day today, so enjoy the rain and bask in the glory of yesterday's victory.

Pitchers and Catchers Report, But How Long Will CC Stay?

First, the good news. Pitchers and catchers report to Winter Haven today.

Now, the bad news: C. C. Sabathia has released a statement via his official website saying, in essence, that he has ceased negotiations with the Cleveland Indians on a contract extension.

This move makes it overwhelmingly likely that Sabathia will not be an Indian beyond the 2008 season. Some other team, desperate for pitching, will go well beyond what Cleveland is willing to offer Sabathia in both cash and years. If Sabathia were willing to give the Tribe a hometown discount, he would have done it already.

The Indians now have a hard choice:

• Option A - go for it all this year and ride one of the best pitchers in the major leagues, knowing that at the end of the year, he will leave and all you will get will be draft picks.
  
• Option B - trade one of the best pitchers in the major leagues for lots of prospects to a big market team that can afford to sign him , knowing that if you do this, there is the possibility that doing so potentially closes the window of opportunity for this year and alienates the fans, who will likely be showing up at the ballpark again this year after last year's exciting postseason.

Not much of a choice, is it? It seems clear that the Indians have chosen Option A. Their window to win it all is now, and they've finally won back the fans who deserted the team after their terribly underperforming 2006 season. If they do win it all, then it will be easier to justify publicly letting Sabathia go, as Tribe fans will be giddy and hungover with glee. If they don't win, however, and cannot resign Sabathia, then all we'll be hearing, once again, is how cheap Dolan is, while CC likely puts on pinstripes and plays for the FEDBU.

Even Option B looks bad - let's look at the teams who can afford Sabathia: FEDBU, FEDBU-lite, the Angels of the OC, the Dodgers, and the Mets. The Mets are out - they ponied up for Santana. The Angels have the prospects to make a trade and the money to sign Sabathia, but have made it clear in the last couple years that they're not trading prospects. The Dodgers have prospects and money, but the NL West is wide open, and it looks like they're going to try to win with the pitching they have. Both the FEDBU and FEDBU-lite have the prospects and the money, but with the Indians having their window as this year, what incentive do they have to trade their best pitcher, during their window of opportunity year, to teams that might slam that window shut in the postseason? Can you imagine what it would be like in Cleveland if the Tribe trades Sabathia to either one of these teams, and then Sabathia pitches the clinching game in a postseason series that knocks the Tribe out of postseason? If CC is set on filing for free agency, he has even less value as a rental than Santana did, as Santana was very clear that he would likely sign an extension with the right team.

Bottom line - unless the Indians win the World Series this year, they are screwed. When CC walks, they lose fickle fan support, Dolan's reputation for being cheap gets unfairly renewed, and their ability to compete takes a major hit with their loss of an ace.

It's hard to be an Indians fan today, even with pitchers and catchers reporting. The pressure to win now just increased dramatically.

Now What?

I've taken a few days to get the season out of my system. I've moved past denial into acceptance, and I'm ready for Hot Stove.

Here are the issues that the Tribe needs to face during the offseason, as I see them, in no particular order:

• Pronk's Mojo - Pronk's Mojo must be found. First priority. It's out there, people - keep looking!
• Who's on Third? - Andy Marte is out of options. It's time to fish or cut bait with Andy Marte. If Andy Marte can be a right handed power bat in the bottom of this order, that would be huge for the Tribe. That also frees Casey Blake to be Super Utility Grizzly(SUG), a role for which he is ideally suited.
• Whither CC? - I suspect that negotiations on an extension for CC have already started. The only way CC is not on this roster at the end of the 2008 season is if the Indians are 20 games out at the All-Star break. I don't see that happening. I think 2007 has only made this team hungrier for 2008 and the Tribe's best shot to win it all is with CC on the mound, despite his poor post-season performances. CC appears to be one who is very capable of learning and growing from his mistakes. Chalk up the 2007 postseason for CC as a learning experience.
• How Do You Solve a Problem Like the Byrdman? - Three weeks ago, picking up Paul Byrd's option was a drop dead no-brainer. At $8 million for a veteran #4 starter, Byrd is cheap in today's baseball economy. Then came the HGH controversy. Without getting into any conspiracy theories about the allegation's timing, it is fortuitous for the Indians that this came out before the Tribe was required to notify Byrd whether they were going to pick up his option, as the team can fully assess the ramifications before saying "yes." I think they pick up his option and slot him at #4. The free agent market for pitching is pretty thin, and Byrd's clubhouse presence cannot be ignored.
• Who's the #5 Starter? - It's going to be a fun battle this spring to see who is the number 5 guy. Aaron Laffey is a left-handed ground ball specialist. Can lefty Cliff Lee get his pitching and attitude together and flash back to 2004 form? Is "Atom" Miller ready? Was Jeremy Sowers a flash in the pan with his Jamie Moyer like junkballing? Do you trade one or any of these guys for offseason help? If Adam Miller is ready, then I think you have to add his power arm to this rotation, with Aaron Laffey as a swing guy out of the pen. Is there a team out there who would be willing to take a chance on Cliff Lee in return for a prospect or two? I think Shapiro has to explore that option in the offseason. I think we've seen the last of Lee in Tribewear.
• Who Closes? - Gotta be Joe Knows Closing. His option is cheap, and unless Shapiro does something radical like bring in Mariano Rivera, we're in for more tightrope walking in the 9th next season. Senor Slow will continue to be the high leverage guy in the late innings.
• Crowded House in the Outfield - No, not the Finn boys from Kiwi land, but the logjam of bodies in the outfield. We know K-Love will be gone. Gutierrez appears to have solved the right field problem, so that pretty much leaves Jason Michaels, David Dellucci, Ben Francisco and Shin Soo Choo fighting it out for playing time in left field. Can the platoon of Michaels and Dellucci perform next year as advertised? Choo is out of options. Neither one has anything left to prove at AAA. Do we see them carry 5 outfielders, with Choo/Gutierrez platooning in right and Dellucci/Michaels platooning in left. If so, then it limits the team as to bench help in the infield. Look for Shapiro to try to move either Francisco or Choo in the offseason, perhaps packaged with a pitcher (Lee or Sowers?), either for prospects or a talented corner outfield bat.
• How Do You Solve a Problem Like Josh Barfield? - The causes for the complete nosedive of Josh Barfield in 2007 are totally mysterious. Sophomore slump? League change? Did he lose some lucky object in his move to Cleveland? Is he under some kind of voodoo curse? At any rate, it looks like he and Cabrera will go into Spring Training fighting it out for the second base job, and it looks every bit like this is Cabrera's job to lose. Barfield probably starts the year at Buffalo to see if he can find anything resembling plate discipline. After this horrendous season, his trade value is at an all-time low, so he's not going anywhere.
• Retire the Chief - It's time. In fact, it's way past time. As someone with a very small percentage of Native ancestry, I understand why it's offensive, and as a fan, it bothers me that people cannot root for my team because they find its symbol offensive. It's one thing to root against a team because you find the players (Albert Belle anyone?) or the city not to your liking. It's another when the mascot mocks and trivializes your ancestry and heritage. We could also change the name while we're at it so we don't have any more idiots showing up at the park in headdresses with their faces painted red. Man, that was embarrassing. Symbols matter. Get a fresh start, Tribe. Put Chief Wahoo in the rear view mirror.
• Trades? - This team really doesn't have to do much in the offseason trade market. A power hitting corner outfielder for left field would be nice. Additional bullpen help is always a good idea if the price is right, as building a bullpen is a crapshoot every year (see Cabrera, Fernando or the 2006 Indians). If the past is any guideline, whatever Shapiro does will probably be something we don't see coming.

Not Our Night

Clues it wasn't the Indians' night:

• Josh Beckett was dealing.
• CC Sabathia was getting ahead and then nibbling.
• The bottom of the Sawx lineup showed up.
• Grady Sizemore made an unchargeable error in the field.
• Rafael Perez looked awful for the second straight appearance against the Sawx.
• Tom Mastny, as seems to be the case most times when he pitches with the bases loaded, threw one to the backstop. It was charged as a passed ball, but still...
• Pronk hit into a double play to let Beckett off the hook in the first inning.

Other observations:

• If the run that Manny drove in after only getting to first base while admiring his shot (which replays showed was not a home run) had been the last run the Sawx scored, and the Indians had come back to win this game, Manny would be Goat #1 in Boston. As it was, it was just Manny being Manny and he'll get off the hook again.
• I'm not sure who to side with in the Lofton-Beckett thing. They both acted like spoiled punks.
• Pronk needs you, badly. He has looked completely overmatched in the last two games. Pronk's Mojo has gone AWOL at a very bad time. Send him your positive thoughts, and keep looking for his Mojo. It's not too late.
• It will indeed be sweet if the Indians celebrate a World Series berth in Fenway Park.
• I'm not sure I trust Fox' pitch tracking thing, but they sure seemed to use it on the rare occasions that Beckett got a ball that looked close but never when he got a strike that sure looked like a ball. I'm just sayin'.
• CC should never have gone back out after he escaped the sixth inning. Either Lewis or Mastny should have started the 7th. Mastny seems to be a better pitcher when he starts an inning.
• What is that thing around Beckett's neck? As much of a big deal as people have made about Cabrera's necklace, it looks like Beckett is wearing a noose around his neck.

Schilling v Carmona at Fenway Park on Saturday. I have to believe that Carmona won't pitch two bad games in a row, especially now that he's pitched at Fenway once.

All He Does is Throw Strikes

Thoughts on the ALCS Game 4:

• Who knew that Paul Byrd was such a big game pitcher? All he does is throw strike 1, then strike 2, and then make you swing at his pitch. It's Pitching 101, and the old guy can do it through the lineup twice. It's age and treachery overcoming youth and skill. He beat the Yankees, and for 5 innings, confounded the Red Sox. If the Indians had not batted for over a half hour in the bottom of the fifth, allowing Byrd to get cold, I wonder whether Byrd might not have been good for another two innings.
• The problem with knuckleball pitchers without another good pitch is that they are prone to hang that one knuckleball that gets clobbered. Tim Wakefield hung that one pitch, Casey Blake, Mountain Man, clobbered it, and then the wheels fell off for the Sawx in the bottom of the fifth. Manny Delcarmen didn't help much by giving up a three-run homer to Jhonny Peralta that pretty well sealed the deal.
• What difference does a stolen base make? I was surprised to see Lofton steal second base with the Tribe up 6-0, because typical baseball etiquette has been that if you are up by that much then stealing is showing the other team up. Lofton scored to make the game 7-0. When the Sawx got their back-to-back-to-back shots in the 6th, the difference between a four-run game and a three-run game meant the Tribe could keep Senor Slow in the game in the 9th because it was not a save situation.
• You just went back-to-back-to-back out of the yard, Manny Ramirez! Please admire your shot and showboat around the bases for your adoring fans! The fact that you're still down 4 runs should make no difference! You can argue that it's just Manny being Manny, but sometimes, Manny being Manny is actually Manny being a clueless egotistical jerk.
• I thought the Sawx defense was supposed to be better than the Tribe's. After both Youk and Pedroia managed to muff a foul pop by Asdrubal Cabrera that might have settled the team down in the fifth, Wakefield then muffed one up the box. If they make either of those plays on Cabrera, the game is different. And Youk made a bad error (one he got charged with) on an attempted pickoff play that was lucky not to have hurt the Sawx in the 6th. So far, the Indians and Sawx have only been charged with 1 error.
• What's that giant sucking sound I hear? No, Ross Perot, it's not NAFTA sucking American jobs south of the border - it's the bottom of the Sawx lineup. Once you get past Lowell, it's pretty much automatic outs until you get back around to Youkilis.
• In the battle of personal catchers, Shoppach went 1 for 3, plus getting hit by a pitch and scoring a run in the pivotal fifth inning. Mirabelli went 0 for 2 and was pulled for Varitek as soon as possible after Wakefield was lifted.
• Pronk got the golden sombrero, striking out 4 times in 4 at bats. Mercifully, Cabrera ended the 8th inning by grounding into a fielder's choice before Pronk could take the mucho gigante golden sombrero in his 5th at bat. Pronk seemed overmatched by the knuckleball. He's hitting .200 for the series, with an OPS of .694. And the Indians are up 3 games to 1.
• Gho Jhonny Gho! Ihf thhe Ihndians whin thhis sheries, Jhonny ihs clhearly the AhLCS MhVP. Jhonny's OhPS - 1.h213.
• The Tribe's postseason veterans have been getting it done. Lofton - key homer in Game 3. Trot - game winning hit in Game 2. Byrd - winning pitcher Game 4. Joe Knows Closing - Save Game 3, Finished Game 2. Sabathia - well, we'll give him a pass until tomorrow.
• Which CC shows up tomorrow? Big Game CC of 2007, calmly throwing strikes and unruffled by bad umpiring or facing Johan Santana, or Postseason CC, who is a mess of flop sweat because he can't throw a strike. If CC shows command of the strike zone and command of himself tomorrow, I think the Red Sox go home for good. Even so, I like the pitching matchups for Game 6 and 7 in Boston in case the Indians can't finish it up at home.
• Dane Cook Must Go.

Three Is a Magic Number

"Three is a Magic Number" - Schoolhouse Rock

Three is now the magic number for the Cleveland Indians to clinch the American League Central Division after yesterday afternoon's victory over the Motor City Kitties.

After spotting the Kitties a 2-run lead in the top of the third inning, the Indians came back off Goggle Boy Nate Robertson with a solo home run by Casey Blake in the bottom of the inning to cut the deficit to 2-1. The Indians took the lead in the 5th with three runs. Key hits were back to back doubles by Gutierrez and Michaels and an RBI single by the Beaded One, Asdrubal Cabrera.

CC Sabathia went 7 strong innings, giving up 5 hits and 2 runs, striking out 7 and walking only 1, turning in another ace-like performance. CC Sabathia knows how to Beat Michigan. Senor Slow came in and pitched an uncharacteritically tense 8th inning, loading the bases before getting Marcus Thames to fly out to end the rally. Joe Knows Closing pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to send the fans out to get an early start on celebrating happy hour. Jason Michaels got served Leadership Pie.

The Tribe now has the opportunity to clinch at home this weekend without anyone's help by sweeping the Oakland Athletics.

A few words about the Tigers. It strikes me that their window is closing while the Indians' is opening. The Tigers took a risk by signing expensive free agents that priced themselves too high for anyone else (Rodriguez and Ordonez), and it paid off last year. Everything went right for the Tigers last year - their young pitching matured all at once, and all their overpriced veterans stayed healthy and produced.

The problem with depending on overpriced veteran free agents, especially older and/or injury-prone ones is that eventually they do experience a drop in production, and they may not stay healthy. This year, unlike last year, their overpriced veterans did not stay healthy (Kenny Rogers, Gary Sheffield).

Their young pitching also got hurt or was not nearly as effective (Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney both spent significant time on the DL, Jeremy Bonderman spent the last couple months in a funk before being shut down, Nate Robertson was ineffective most of the season, Mike Maroth is now a Cardinal).

Kenny Rogers is finally showing his age, leaving a void at the top of their rotation. Andrew Miller wasn't ready this year - he might be next year. How badly is Bonderman hurt? Was their pitching staff a victim of overuse last year? The Tigers will probably come to regret giving up top pitching prospects for Gary Sheffield, especially if Sheffield continues to miss games at the rate he did this year while their prospects go on to shine for the Yankees.

Pudge Rodriguez is a shell of his former self, both offensively and defensively. Craig Monroe and Marcus Thames had career years last year, and both came crashing to earth, Monroe crashing so hard that he was dealt to the Cubs.

The Tigers have a solid core in Granderson, Verlander, Ordonez and Bonderman. However, they have a lot of questions - is all the hype on Andrew Miller legitimate? Can they find a shortstop that will give them enough offense to allow them to move Carlos Guillen to first base to keep him healthy? Can Ordonez continue to avoid injuries? What do they do with Pudge now that he's lost it? How long can they keep riding Todd Jones at closer, and is Zumaya really ready to close? Can they put together a decent enough bullpen to get games to Rodney/Zumaya/Jones?

It will be a critical off-season for the Motor City Kitties that determines how well they continue to stay in contention.

It's Good to Be Back Home Again

When last we left our intrepid band of Wahoo Warriors, they were in the midst of a wicked 10-game road trip featuring stops in Minnesota, A Nameless Place in Southern California, and Chicago. They had just dropped the first game of a 4-game set in that Nameless Place in Southern California.

The good news is that, after dropping a tough game 2 of that series, the Indians went on to take the next two, including a Sunday night victory on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball, to split the series.


After a 4:30 AM arrival in Chicago, the team managed to show some spunk, behind a 3-run 7th-inning rally to win a rain soaked 6-2 game that lasted well into Tuesday morning. After a 2-hour-plus rain delay, the Indians poured on two more runs while Chicago was phoning it in. Chicago phoned in the next game as well. With the off-day coming, Eric Wedge decided to rest key regulars to give them a two-day break. Unfortunately, the Indians were facing Javier Vazquez, who is pretty much the only consistent pitcher the Sox have left, and, with the Sox' Konerko given a gift home run that was clearly foul, as well as a poor relief performance from Cliff "Sleepy Kitten" Lee (see below), the Tribe managed to lost 7-4.







So, the grueling road trip is over, and the Indians went 7-3. This caps a stretch of 23 straight days with a game, during which the Indians went 16-7, and ended with a 5.5 game lead, and a magic number of 11. You know, this team might turn out to be pretty good after all, after all the hand-wringing we've been through this year.


After an off day for everyone, the Tribe last night managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat once again, coming from a 4-1 deficit against the Royals on a 2-run homer by Franklin Gutierrez in the 7th, a solo homer from Victor Martinez in the 8th, and a leadoff, walkoff solo shot by Casey Blake in the 9th against Tribe castoff David Riske. Joe Knows Closing got the victory for pitching a reasonably uneventful 9th. Last night's victory leaves the Tribe's magic number at 10.

Mojo Watch:

Pronk: It seemed like Pronk was about to turn it around. He hasn't, at least not to the extent we all have hoped. He still has managed to knock in 91 runs. However, his 21 homers is half of what he put up last year in 8 fewer games than he has already played this year.

Indians: The Indians continue to run on Full Elvis. They're winning the games they should win, and sometimes even winning the games they have no business winning. The magic number is 10.